Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
Col P S W Dean
Foresters
Tostock
Bury St Edmunds
Telephone 01-
HKB 431 14
RECEIVED INS
O Z AUG 1990
DESK OF
INDEX
Your reference.
WINAEI
Our reference
Date
24 July 1990
Suffolk IP30 9PJ
Dear Colonel Dean,
attached'
Thank you for your letters of 29 May and 29 June to the Foreign Secretary. I have been asked to reply. I am sorry that you have not received an earlier reply
You ask what arrangements have been made for Hong Kong Chinese who served the British Crown in the Second World War, and for their wives or widows to be given British passports. In 1986, the then Home Secretary gave an assurance that any former servicemen who had fought in the defence of Hong Kong and who were still resident there, would be allowed to settle in this country at any time together with their dependants. In the case of those who were British Dependent Territories Citizens, he also undertook to exercise his discretion and register them as British citizens if they so applied.
During the Second Reading of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill in April this year, the Home Secretary gave a clear assurance that the widows of former servicemen who served in the Second World War would be allowed to come here at any time, either before or after 1997, irrespective of their husband's nationality.
Therefore although Hong Kong Chinese servicemen and their wives or widows cannot hold a British passport whilst residing in Hong Kong, they are all entitled to settle in this country.
You also ask about pension arrangements for these ex-servicemen. Hong Kong Chinese War veterans who were members of specified military or paramilitary units and who were imprisoned as POWS or injured during the Second World War, together with the widows of those who died, are eligible for benefits from the Hong Kong War Memorial Fund. These benefits are extensive and are paid in the form of grants and allowances rather than in the form of pensions. The fund provides a large number of benefits including maintenance grants for single and married veterans or veterans' widows, a special needs allowance for veterans over 60 and not in employment, a dependant child allowance for each child under 21, free medical treatment at Government and Military hospitals and reimbursement of dental charges at specific clinics. Veterans can
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